LG launches its $734 Velvet phone with stylus support and ASMR video mode in South Korea

As countries around the world are slowly opening up their economies, phone makers are also starting to launch new phones again. Today, after much teasing and touting, LG released its new Velvet smartphone in South Korea.

The design-centric phone aims to wow people with it’s ‘clean’ look and sturdy design. A 6.8-inch POLED display (OLED with a plastic substrate) on the front will likely tempt people looking for a phone with an especially large screen.

[Read: Sonos announces the Arc soundbar, its first Dolby Atmos speaker]

The device’s internals are a rung below this year’s flagship-grade phones, like the OnePlus 8 and the Samsung Galaxy S20. Here’s a look at its specifications:

• Screen: 6.8-inch FullHD+ POLED display
• Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 765 5G — might not be as powerful as the Snapdragon 865, but it’s more than sufficient for daily tasks
• Memory: 8GB
• Rear camera: 48–megapixel main + 8-megapixel wide-angle sensor + 5-megapixel depth sensor
• Front camera: 16-megapixel
• Battery: 4,300 mAh
• Software: Android 10.0
• Internal storage:128GB UFS 2.1

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The company says the phone has IP68 certification, so it’s water and dustproof. What’s more, it’s also military standard 810G compliant, so it’ll likely survive drops and harsh environmental conditions.

The LG Velvet has support for a Wacom stylus, so if you’ve ever envied Samsung Galaxy Note owners who can draw and write on their phones,, you can purchase this at a much lower price. The phone comes pre-loaded with a Nebo note-taking app that converts your handwriting to text.

The device packs some curious video features, including an ASMR recording mode if you’re into it. Plus, there’s a steady cam mode that uses AI to compensate for your hand shaking when you’re holding the phone while recording. It also features speed controls for timelapse recording and voice focus to adjust out-of-focus audio recording while shooting a video.

LG Velvet is priced at 899,800 South Korean Won ($734), and it’ll go on sale on May 15 in the country. The company hasn’t revealed pricing for international markets yet, but we’ll keep an eye on that and update the story accordingly.